Published: Thursday, July 31, 2014 at 10:52 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, July 31, 2014 at 10:52 p.m.

Carolina defensive end Frank Alexander didn’t attempt to sidestep inquiries into his past, nor did he mince words regarding zero tolerance toward repeating the damaging behavior that will delay the start of his regular season.

The 24-year-old was suspended for this year’s first four games back in May for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Speaking about it at Wofford on Thursday, Alexander didn’t reveal what he’d taken, but was straight up in admitting his transgression when asked if he planned to appeal. He’s able to participate in camp.

“No, there ain’t nothing to appeal because I did it, so what do you appeal?” Alexander said. “I’ve just got to stay prayed up and when I come back, just come back strong.”

He added that his teammates have simply told him to “be smarter” and the coaching staff has said to “just keep working and pay attention to the little details and be ready when I come back in October.”

He can be added back to the active roster on Sept. 29, following the fourth game in Baltimore.

Alexander is well aware that he’s on the brink of missing far longer time should he put himself in a similar negative situation, and acknowledged he considered he might have thrown away his career.

“That runs through your head, just thinking, OK, one more slip up and it’s a year out, and most times when guys get out for a year it’s hard to come back from that,” Alexander said. “So it’s an eye-opening experience and I’ve just got to be smarter from here on out.”

Alexander, chosen in the fourth round out of Oklahoma in 2012, has started three games in each of his first two seasons, combining for 33 tackles, 3½ sacks and three recovered fumbles. The 6-foot-4, 270-pounder has dropped 10 pounds from last season and is one of the main backups behind starters Greg Hardy and Charles Johnson on a line that helped the Panthers lead the NFL in sacks. Hardy could be facing his own suspension due to a domestic abuse conviction currently under appeal.

“We just work to get each other better and that’s it,” Alexander said. “We’re like a brotherhood so when you see one down you try and pick him up and the way Charles and Greg set the tone it just makes all the younger players do the same.”

Nasty conditions

The team practiced in the first rainy conditions of training camp Thursday after moving an originally scheduled afternoon session to the regular 9:25 morning slot. Coach Ron Rivera said he always worries about the risk of injury during camp, but that players have to be accustomed to all variety of weather.

“These are the conditions we’re going to play in and so we have to go ahead and practice in these as well,” Rivera said. “The guys did good and I think we came out without anybody getting nicked.”

Quarterback Cam Newton did have to come to sideline for what appeared to be a re-taping, possibly for his mending ankle, but Rivera revealed he had gotten kicked in the shin.

Newton had a shaky start to practice, which Rivera declined to blame on the weather, before getting in a groove.

“So they cut the tape off just to make sure, and they put a shin guard on. (Newton) was off early and we repeated one of the segments for him and he was perfect in that part of it. We’re watching him and trying to get him into a rhythm and once he got into his rhythm he practiced good down the stretch.”

As far as injuries, Rivera said receiver Kelvin Benjamin’s knee was “progressing very nicely. They’ll get him out and work him a bit later in the day and see how he feels.”

Rivera said he hopes to have injured cornerbacks Josh Norman and Thomas DeCoud back before the first preseason game.

<p>Carolina defensive end Frank Alexander didn't attempt to sidestep inquiries into his past, nor did he mince words regarding zero tolerance toward repeating the damaging behavior that will delay the start of his regular season.</p><p>The 24-year-old was suspended for this year's first four games back in May for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Speaking about it at Wofford on Thursday, Alexander didn't reveal what he'd taken, but was straight up in admitting his transgression when asked if he planned to appeal. He's able to participate in camp.</p><p>“No, there ain't nothing to appeal because I did it, so what do you appeal?” Alexander said. “I've just got to stay prayed up and when I come back, just come back strong.”</p><p>He added that his teammates have simply told him to “be smarter” and the coaching staff has said to “just keep working and pay attention to the little details and be ready when I come back in October.” </p><p>He can be added back to the active roster on Sept. 29, following the fourth game in Baltimore.</p><p> Alexander is well aware that he's on the brink of missing far longer time should he put himself in a similar negative situation, and acknowledged he considered he might have thrown away his career.</p><p>“That runs through your head, just thinking, OK, one more slip up and it's a year out, and most times when guys get out for a year it's hard to come back from that,” Alexander said. “So it's an eye-opening experience and I've just got to be smarter from here on out.”</p><p>Alexander, chosen in the fourth round out of Oklahoma in 2012, has started three games in each of his first two seasons, combining for 33 tackles, 3½ sacks and three recovered fumbles. The 6-foot-4, 270-pounder has dropped 10 pounds from last season and is one of the main backups behind starters Greg Hardy and Charles Johnson on a line that helped the Panthers lead the NFL in sacks. Hardy could be facing his own suspension due to a domestic abuse conviction currently under appeal.</p><p>“We just work to get each other better and that's it,” Alexander said. “We're like a brotherhood so when you see one down you try and pick him up and the way Charles and Greg set the tone it just makes all the younger players do the same.”</p><h3>Nasty conditions</h3>
<p>The team practiced in the first rainy conditions of training camp Thursday after moving an originally scheduled afternoon session to the regular 9:25 morning slot. Coach Ron Rivera said he always worries about the risk of injury during camp, but that players have to be accustomed to all variety of weather.</p><p>“These are the conditions we're going to play in and so we have to go ahead and practice in these as well,” Rivera said. “The guys did good and I think we came out without anybody getting nicked.”</p><p>Quarterback Cam Newton did have to come to sideline for what appeared to be a re-taping, possibly for his mending ankle, but Rivera revealed he had gotten kicked in the shin. </p><p>Newton had a shaky start to practice, which Rivera declined to blame on the weather, before getting in a groove.</p><p>“So they cut the tape off just to make sure, and they put a shin guard on. (Newton) was off early and we repeated one of the segments for him and he was perfect in that part of it. We're watching him and trying to get him into a rhythm and once he got into his rhythm he practiced good down the stretch.”</p><p>As far as injuries, Rivera said receiver Kelvin Benjamin's knee was “progressing very nicely. They'll get him out and work him a bit later in the day and see how he feels.”</p><p>Rivera said he hopes to have injured cornerbacks Josh Norman and Thomas DeCoud back before the first preseason game.</p>